The term “algorithms” is increasingly used as shorthand to describe complex, large-scale socio-technical systems such as social media platforms, analytic systems, recommendation engines, and personalization that depend on frequently opaque and constantly changing computational algorithms. With the explosion in analytic and tracking technologies and a flourishing market incapturing and re-selling this information, the full scope of the inputs used by algorithmic methods is also often unclear. Effort has gone into understanding the behaviors and potential biases embodied in such systems, but much less well explored is how to document their constantly changing behaviors at a given point in time.

Clifford Lynch will explore the nature of the problem and offer very preliminary thoughts on pathways to address the increasingly urgent need to document and preserve these often-critical social and societal artifacts.

Clifford Lynch has led the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) since 1997. CNI, jointly sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and EDUCAUSE, includes about 200 member organizations concerned with the intelligent uses of information technology and networked information to enhance scholarship and intellectual life. CNI’s wide-ranging agenda includes work in digital preservation, data intensive scholarship, teaching, learning and technology, and infrastructure and standards development.

Co-sponsored by the UCLA Library and the Department of Information Studies

I am thrilled to announce that the Data Governance Task Force’s work has completed and its final report and recommendations are now available. We’d like to contribute some ideas for addressing questions about appropriate use of data shared by many of our higher ed colleagues. We’re also interested in thoughts about the report.

NB. Availability of this report doesn’t imply campus vetting or endorsement. Those discussions are just beginning.

I am excited to be part of a half-day workshop on intellectual freedom being conducted by Maureen Whalen (previously of the Getty Museum) May 19, 2016. Click on the flyer for details. No RSVP necessary.

The senior thesis project of Thom Rugo, a 2015 graduate of the UCLA Department of Design and Media Arts, is “a thought-provoking art piece titled Central Hub, [that] encourages individuals to reevaluate their blasé attitudes toward privacy, data security and surveillance.” From a privacy practitioner’s point of view, it’s a different take on how we can heighten privacy awareness.

I am pleased to join the UCLA Library in presenting authors Michael Keller, a multimedia reporter at Al Jazeera America, and Josh Neufeld, a nonfiction cartoonist, at two events being held at UCLA on May 19.

Admission is free, but space is limited, and reservations are requested (RSVP for each session below separately). Attendees will receive a print copy of Terms of Service and the authors will be available for signing.

In Terms of Service, authors Keller and Neufeld take readers on a practical journey toward understanding digital-age privacy in everyday life. Come hear excerpts from the work, gain insight into into privacy concerns, and learn about the authors’ collaborative creative process. An audience discussion will follow the talk.

A picture’s worth a thousand words, as authors Keller and Neufeld show with their graphic novel Terms of Service. What might this mean on a university campus? Plenty, ranging from research publications to citizen journalism.

Keller and Neufeld will explain their creative process and how they used this visual form to illuminate an extremely complex issue, suggesting new formats for published research. Keller will also suggest how today’s citizen journalists, armed with smartphones and social media accounts, can embrace possibilities and avoid pitfalls.

Christine Borgman’s brand-new book, Big Data, Little Data, No Data: Scholarship in the Networked World is for anyone who bandies about the words “big data”. Read this interview and come to the book signing 4-6pm February 25 (flyer)!

Concerned about all the data breach talk in the news lately? Wondering if your departmental practices need review? Join us on February 10th to learn about the policies and practices that can help you avoid getting into a breach situation and what to do if it does happen.

This event is free, but seating is limited, so registration is required. (Please unregister should your plans change by entering your email address and choosing “I will NOT attend this event”.)

The seminar will begin at 8am with a light breakfast and end at noon. It is organized by my office, supported by the Office of Information Technology, and sponsored by the Office of Insurance and Risk Management as part of the campus’s activities for Data Privacy Month.

Here’s the current agenda and speaker lineup:

AGENDA

SPEAKERS

BREACHES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Campus response policy and protocol

Keynote: Surviving a privacy breach

PROTECTING DATA

Data classification and other policy

Data in the cloud

Concrete suggestions for better awareness

PROTECTING DEVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Keynote: Surviving a high-profile burglary

Cybersecurity insurance claims and eligibility

Campus backbone network protections

Campuswide initiatives and policy

BALANCING PRIVACY INTERESTS

Privacy expectations, policy requirements, and the law

Kelly Arruda, project manger, Office of Information Technology

Amy Blum, senior campus counsel

Ross Bollens, chief information security officer, IT Services

Karla Breen, director of Business Administration, UCLA Center X, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

This free event is open to the UCLA community, but seating is limited and registration is required. Refreshments will be served. This event is sponsored by the Office of Information Technology, with support from the UCLA Library, as part of the campus’s activities surrounding international Data Privacy Day.